ATP Monte-Carlo: Tsitsipas has everything to consolidate his reign, but Davidovich Fokina clings to his dream – Eurosport FR

The context It is definitely difficult to see clearly at the start of the season on the ATP circuit. Before the start of hostilities on the Rock, two players particularly caught the eye for very different reasons. In the absence of injured Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, all eyes were first on the comeback of Novak Djokovic who had only played in Dubai in February. In addition, many wondered if Carlos Alcaraz would confirm his first Masters 1000 title in Miami on clay. But beaten from the start, both the Serbian and the Spaniard were not the expected main players.ATP Monte-Carlo 6 PM Instead, the unexpected Alejandro Davidovich Fokina monopolized the attention. Tomb of Djokovic, he could have been satisfied with the title of hero of the start of the tournament, since so many exploits remain without a future on the tennis planet. But the 46th player in the world has indeed surfed the wave, crossing the obstacles one after the other with bluffing mental resources. Taylor Fritz, knocked down in the quarter-finals, and Grigor Dimitrov, capped at the post in the half, can testify to this: “Foki” has resources. Far from giving in to the frustration of sometimes contrary scenarios, he firmly believed in his destiny after having defeated the world number 1, despite six defeats at the start of his first nine tournaments of the year. Djoko was out of order: the summary of his defeat against Davidovich FokinaSee Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of a Masters 1000 is certainly less unexpected. But the Greek has this in common with Davidovich Fokina that his pre-Monte Carlo dynamic did not plead in his favor. Admittedly, he had reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open only a few weeks after having surgery on his right elbow. But this performance looked like a sham as he subsequently encountered difficulties. Smothered by Jenson Brooksby in Indian Wells, swept away by Alcaraz in Miami, he has been leveling off lately and the season on clay, where he has to defend more than half of his points, was shaping up to be more than perilous. But the return to the places of its triumph last year has revived it. His crazy quarter-final against Diego Schwartzman could thus represent a major turning point in his season. In total control, then on the edge of the abyss, Tsitsipas got away with character. A victory as epic as potentially founding as his demonstration against Alexander Zverev in half seems to indicate. More experienced than Davidovich in this kind of occasion, he has the opportunity to come back to the fore as he has been playing second fiddle lately. . Stefanos Tsitsipas thus leads 2-0 in his duels against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Greek won last year on retirement in the quarter-finals of this same tournament (7-5, ab.). Enough to give ideas of revenge to the Spaniard. Tsitsipas’ second victory dates from a few weeks ago in the 1st round of the indoor hard court tournament in Rotterdam (7-5, 6-7, 6-4). 1h15 to find the final: Tsitsipas swept ZverevTheir journeyStefanos Tsitsipas1st round: Exempted as seed 3
2nd round: defeats Fabio Fognini [ITA] 6-3, 6-0
1/8th final: defeats Laslo Djere [SER] 7-5, 7-6(1)
1/4 final: Defeat Diego Schwartzman [ARG/N.12] 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4
1/2 final: defeats Alexander Zverev [ALL/N.2] 6-4, 6-2 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1st round: defeated Marcos Giron [E-U] 7-5, 6-3
2nd round: defeats Novak Djokovic [SER/N.1] 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1
1/8th round: beats David Goffin [BEL/WC] 6-4, 6-1
1/4 final: beat Taylor Fritz [E-U/N.10] 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
1/2 final: beat Grigor Dimitrov [BUL] 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3They said Stefanos Tsitsipas: “I’m not really the new boss of Monte-Carlo. Other players have done much better than me, I’m only at the start from what I started. With Alejandro, we already had great battles, I have to be very well prepared. I feel that my game is in place, I have to stay focused.” continued: “I’m not yet the boss in Monte-Carlo”Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: “I’m tired, but I keep pushing my limits. I’m so happy to be in the final and for my team: they always tell me that I have more resources than what I think in me. I watched all the Rafa (Nadal) finals here, and I thought that one day I could be there.”Three stats to keep in mind3 . Spain has an impressive reservoir of champions since three of its representatives have qualified for the first three Masters 1000 finals: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte-Carlo succeeds Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells and Carlos Alcaraz in Miami. This is the third time that a nation has obtained such results, after the United States in 1993 (Courier, Washington and Sampras) and 2001 (Sampras, Gambill, Agassi).17. If he wins the final on Sunday, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, currently 46th in the world, would become the lowest-ranked player to win the Masters 1000 since Tomas Berdych at Indian Wells in 2005, 17 years ago. At the time, the Czech was the 50th player in the world and had beaten Ivan Ljubicic.252. Stefanos Tsitsipas spent 252 minutes less on the court than Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, that is to say 4h12 of effort saved compared to the Spaniard. Exempted from the first round, the Greek has, in fact, played one match less and fought much less on the court, apart from during his quarter-final against Schwartzman. of this final is clear and his name is Stefanos Tsitsipas. And this for multiple reasons, starting with the ranking of the two men (5th against 46th) and their experience in managing occasions of this kind. While Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will taste a final on the ATP circuit for the first time in his career, it will be the 19th for the Greek and the 4th in Masters 1000. A scare in the 2nd set but Davidovich Fokina holds his first final Add to that the fact that Tsitsipas is defending champion and that he emerged victorious in the first two confrontations between the two men, and it becomes clear that the scales tip in his favor. You had to see Davidovich Fokina’s joy at the end of his victory in the semi-final to understand that for him, this final is in itself a fantastic achievement. He has also given a lot in this tournament, surely too much, both physically and emotionally since his feat against Djokovic. By his own admission, the Spaniard pushed his limits against Dimitrov. Will he be able to do it again? We can doubt it. Still, he is on cloud nine and has nothing to lose in the final. This daze could make him dangerous if he manages to recover. But Tsitsipas has enough to approach this final serenely, given the state of form displayed against Zverev. We can be sure of it: he hasn’t finished his tournament and won’t run out of gas.Our prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas in two sets.ATP Monte-CarloDavidovich after qualifying for the Monte-Carlo final: “I went all the way of my limits”18 HOURS AGOATP Monte-CarloA big defense and a foul from Zverev to conclude the match, Tsitsipas reaches the final18 HOURS AGO